Inukami 4
September 24, 2009
Mari Matsuzawa / Mamizu Arisawa – Seven Seas – 2009 – 6 volumes
I have no idea if this series is still running, but volume 6 came out in 2007, so it’s either over or on hiatus. Just so you know. I always like to know how many volumes long something is when I’m reading it.
Anyway. I last checked in with volume one, and I have to admit, I do like things a bit better after volume four. There are a few things this series does that are kind of interesting. The cases seem to deal with older people, and the main character himself is an adult. The case this time around is also kind of interesting, and without preamble or any amateur stuff, Keita jumps right in and tries to beat death and stop him from killing a young heiress. Apparently her grandfather made a deal with the devil, and ever since then the family members have died young. The heiress is the only family member left, and her butler is the only person left to take care of her. Every year, on her birthday, something terrible happens, and the grim reaper has warned her that she and anyone with her will die on her 20th birthday. So, then we have Keita and his inukami. They decide to… uh, challenge the grim reaper to a boxing match, which is actually goofy and pretty cool. The plot to this sub-story is okay, but there wasn’t anything terribly gripping or compelling about it aside from the fact we won’t get to see the conclusion next volume.
There are still things I dislike about Inukami, though. The main character is sort of a lech, which is a boring anime joke. The thing is, I can’t tell if he actually is or if he is just accused of it by his inukami all the time. It might be a little bit of both. This isn’t really a joke I like in any context. There are a lot of other jokes, and while they weren’t as terrible as the pervert jokes, I still wasn’t really all that into the sense of humor here. There’s an omake chapter in the back of the volume that features the characters at an all-girls school with Keita as a teacher (who is, of course, a lech for real in this chapter), but I kind of wished the main story from this volume had finished instead of being served that blatant fanservice. The other problem is that, despite the fact that everyone except Keita’s inukami is an adult, they still all look like 10-year-old kids. These are pretty significant hurdles, and given the fact that the rest of what was going on was only okay, it sort of makes Inugami appeal mostly to an extreme niche.
Despite all that, I did like what was going on. Even though he is portrayed as a pervert, unusually, my favorite thing about the volume was Keita’s skills and his attitude about doing his job. It made up for a lot of the other strangeness. It’s definitely still an acquired taste, and it’s more of a light read than anything substantial. It’s not really for me, but I’m sure there’s an audience out there for it.
This was a review copy provided by Seven Seas.
